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Rhetorical Analysis Proposal:
"The Growing College Gap" by Tamara Draut. Published in Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and Its Poisonous Consequences
Working Assertion: Tamara Draut attempts to persuade her audience of the need for need based financial aid by prooviding statistics, examining effects of initiatives, identifying differences in low and high income students, and presenting trend differences between earlier financial aid trends and current ones.
What we'll address in the presentation: We'll analyze the strategies behind Draut's techniques. We'll demonstrate their effectiveness or ineffectiveness. We'll explain the context behind this issue. We'll use quotes from her essay to show her techniques more vividly.
Eileen Richling will point out some of the strategies used and explain what they are (and give examples).
Lindsay Ralbovsky will show what effect Draut wanted using the strategies.
Sara Kaplanwill explain the context.
Sukyong Jung will point out and explain the rest of the strategies (and give examples).
Rebecca Aarons will sum up and end the presentation.

Presentation Outline:
Tamara Draut attempts to persuade her audience of the need for need based financial aid by providing statistics, examining effects of initiatives, identifying differences in low and high income students, and presenting trend differences between earlier financial aid trends and current ones.
Merit based spread thinly through
Higher education is more important than before in our global job markets thus not going to college puts you at a greater disadvantage.
College raise tuition because get less m:
money from fed government therefore aid goes toward merit based rather than need based
Less funding in order to get more money from federal want better students therefore giving more merit than need
Scholarships cause the gap between the rich and the poor

Sara: colleges become more expensive  disadvantage for need based students, economy is down, money is spread thin, education is crucial: Higher education is more important than before in our global job markets thus not going to college puts you at a greater disadvantage, bachelors isn’t enough anymore, more lower income student are going to community colleges and starting to work therefore unable to obtain better high paying jobs  increase the gap
1st draft of Introduction:
America has fallen on difficult financial times. The only stories we hear these days are those of failed businesses, credit card debt and the lack of jobs for American people. The economic bubble we were in was bound to burst but for those who are already at a disadvantage in today’s society, they no longer have as many opportunities to rise above their socioeconomic level in the dismal state of the financial world. Often those need aid the most do not receive it.
Companies will hire anyone, anywhere who possesses the skill set to perform a job. It is more important than ever to pursue higher education in order to compete in the global job market. It is not enough in many fields to obtain a bachelors or masters degree, it is a prerequisite to have gone to several different schools and to have several degrees in a specialized subject area. The rising costs of university and living mean that those students who have graduated from high school are forced to choose between crippling debt before they reach their next level of education, which may not be their last, and working in order to save up to perhaps go to school or move out of their parent’s houses.

Eileen: statistics = In her endeavor to impress upon her readers the existence and crisis of the growing gap, Tamara Draut employs certain strategies. One of Draut's key techniques for getting her point across is using statistics. She begins by pointing out (with numbers) the increasing importance of higher education by citing the average income of people with varying levels of education, the more education the more money you'll make. She also cites statistics for the percentage of minorities in college (the freshman class was only 6% Blacks and Hispanics when there are 15% and 13% of them in their age group). Other key statistics include the price of individual tutouring and review books that help college entrance scores, and the numbers of college qualified students who go to community colleges or don't enroll at all. The numbers were 410,000 and 168,000 respectively.Lindsay: Statistics – Draut helps prove her point by using the statistics. They provide the evidence needed to help support her opinions, and establish her own credibility because it proves that what she’s saying has actually been proven or previously considered. This strategy’s effect on readers is that it encourages them to believe and trust Draut, and to be more readily convinced/persuaded of her arguments.Eileen: Her second strategy was to describe the effects of initiatives by government. She pointed out the GI Bill, the Higher Education Act of 1965, Pell Grants, and the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning. She stated that the GI Bill was widely used and cost the goverment a lot of money but sent about 2.3 million to colleges and universities. Draut pointed out how the HEA of 1965 was "meant to ensure access to college for all" and provided grants and loans so that no one couldn't go to college because they were poor, and expanded through Pell Grants. Lastly, she explains the effects of the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning and how the benefits of the tax credits went overwhelmingly to the middle and upper classes.Lindsay: Effects of Government Initiatives – provides legal support to her claims, also establishes her credibility because she’s using governmental actions whose effects on the people are known by almost everyone. A lot of people are able to relate because they’re recent, and if they haven’t been directly affected by the initiatives, then they’ve at least heard of them.Suki: differences in low and high income studentsLindsay: Differences between low and high income students – by establishing this difference, Draut creates one of her main defenses for her argument: that a student’s background and home life are just as important to kids’ futures as their work in school is. A kid might have gotten into a good college, but if their home life isn’t encouraging, or that student has a good job they want to keep, then they might decide to stay at a community college with the intention of transferring.Suki: present trend differences in financial aidLindsay: Differences between trends in financial aid – because she stresses the difference between merit-based and need-based scholarships, Draut establishes one of her most important arguments. She emphasizes the fact that the students needs are not being met, and since more kids need the financial aid than merit scholarships, the universities and government are just helping the gap to grow.Rebecca: Tamara Draut explains that unfortunately those in need of financial aid in order to obtain higher education often are not receiving it because of the poor financial situation of America. As a result of America’s poor economy, businesses are forced to minimize quantity of workers therefore, maximizing the quality of the worker they higher. They are very selective with those that they higher. She explains that today, higher education is almost completely necessary in order to obtain a successful job that will provide you with the necessary income to support your family. She states that in response to the economy, universities are receiving less federal funding, causing them to increase tuition and decrease the financial aid given. The higher the level of intelligence a university has the more federal aid they receive. Therefore Draut concludes, they are forced to grant merit based scholarships to higher level children in hopes of constantly raising their level of intelligence as a university thus receiving more federal aid. Through the use of statistic and initiatives Tamara Draut establishes credibility and supports her claim in order to persuade her audience of her argument. She explains that scholarships based on financial need are more necessary than those of merit based because it allows those less fortunate to create a future for themselves and their families better than that of which they had. Tamara Draut effectively persuades her audience of the need for need based financial aid.

Sara Kaplan
Sentence: The media's portrayal of the Israeli operation in Gaza that took place in January, 2009, is biased and unfair.
Tags: Gaza, Israel, media, media bias
Question framed Specifically: Is the media unfair towards Israel in it's portrayal of Operation Cast Lead?
Practical Question framed more Generally: Is the media biased in it's portrayal of international conflict?
Specific Question framed as a Theory: Is the media biased against Israel?
Specific Question framed in Practical Terms: Should the media correct it's bias against Israel?
Very Specific, Very Practical: Why and how should the media correct it's bias against Israel?

Eileen Richling
Sentence: Despite the common belief that the fine arts have no academc value and can be cut from schools, I believe it's the fine arts education that make a person more desirable in a work environment.
Tags: fine arts, budget cuts, arts, education, work environment
Question framed Specifically: Should the USD 497 school district cut money from their fine arts department budget?
Practical Question framed more Generally: Should schools value sports over creativity?
Specific Question framed as a Theory: Should Lawrence Free State High School cut the budgets of departments that promote creativity in students?
Specific Question framed in Practical Terms: Will Lawrence Free State High School see more drop-outs when classes such as art, music, and theater are cut?
Very Specific, Very Practical: Will Lawrence Free State High School benefit more from the money spent on a football stadium than from the well-rounded minds and abilities of the fine-arts students?

Sukyong Jung
Sentence: The requirement of every Korean male citizen to serve two years in the army should not be applied to professional athletes because it significantly disturbs their careers.
Tags: Korea, army, laws, Korean male citizen, professional athlete, contract, career, two years
Question framed Specifically: Should the Korean government require its professional athletes to serve two years in the army?
Practical Question framed more Generally: Should eveyone be treated equally under the law, disregarding their differences?
Specific Question framed as a Theory: Should non-athletes and athletes be treated equally under the Korean army law?
Specific Question framed in Practical Terms: Should professional athletes be required to serve two years in the Army, just like non-athletes?
Very Specific, Very Practical: Should the Korean Government require its professional athletes to serve two years in the army, even if it potentially ruins their careers?

Rebecca Aarons
Sentence: Despite the knowledge of the negative effects of tanning beds, I believe people value their image rather than their health.
Tags: tanning beds, negative effects of tanning beds, personal image, public health concerns, materialistic views, health concerns, skin cancer
Question framed Specifically: Should people go tanning despite the knowledge that it causes skin cancer?
Practical Question framed more Generally: Should people go tanning despite the health concerns?
Specific Question framed as a Theory: Should teenagers put such regard on their image in spite of health concerns?
Specific Question framed in Practical Terms: Should teenagers care more about being tan rather than getting skin cancer?
Very Specific, Very Practical: Should tanning salons require parental consent before allowing teenagers to tan?

Lindsay Ralbovsky
Sentence: People say SUNY schools don't provide as good an education, but I know that it's often times better than a lot of private schools.
Tags: SUNY schools, college, education, quality of education, prejudice/stereotypes
Question framed Specifically: Do SUNY schools offer a comparable education to private colleges?
Practical Question framed more Generally: Should the tuition of a school determine the quality of that school's education?
Specific Question framed as a Theory: Should there be such a huge lack of respect for state colleges when they often provide superior educations to private schools?
Specific Question framed in Practical Terms: Can Binghamton University provide as satisfatory an education as Boston University?
Very Specific, Very Practical: Can students receive as excellent a liberal arts education from Binghamton University as they can from Boston University?